The Kingfisher is having an awesome Spring special clothing sale this weekend. The “Thanks for your support – This one’s for you” promotion.
You will receive 15% off all clothing, shoes, caps & hats. The sale starts on Friday the 23rd and finishers on Sunday the 25th of September 2022. Pop into any of the seven Kingfisher stores in KZN, they are open 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays – It’s time to venture outside after winter.
For the best in tackle and advice, pop into any of the The Kingfisher stores, they are open 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays
Fishing has started to come right after the sewage spills. The fishing has been good in all facets with plenty of great catches.
Top tip. Often, we fish far too heavy for our intended target species. There are exceptions where you want to go heavier and this is often the case when fish health trumps enjoying the fight. Sometimes scaling down a line class or two can not only increase your chance of catching a fish, it can also greatly improve your enjoyment.
So, whether you are fishing for bass, trout or sharks, consider fishing a bit lighter to get the bite.
Offshore:
The sea has been friendly on most days, but the weather has made some days a no go. Nonetheless the fish are there to be caught.
North – The north coast has seen some good game fishing with a host of species being caught. The first of the dorado should start becoming regulars on the reports as we get closer to the warmth of summer. These fish are fantastic fighters and a great introduction into the world of game fishing. Keep an eye on any floating structure in the deeper water for signs of the dorado.
Central – The Durban coast has seen more fishing in the last week with the sewage spills being forgotten. There have been a mix of species on offer for all to catch. The shallow areas just past the backline have seen a lot of snoek and garrick. Trolling with fillets for the snoek and throwing a spoon in to the shallows at the same time is a great way of getting their attention. The garrick have been taken in the same area but all on live bait.
South – The south coast has seen the garrick and snoek as well, with the same techniques proving to be successful.
The south has seen a lot of boats launching and heading out to the shoal. The fishing has been a mix out deep with the currents proving to be the most significant factor. Speak to the locals at the launch site to see what is happening. Faster trolling lures have been the most successful lures to use for the tuna, wahoo, couta and all the other predators.
Rock and surf:
The rock and surf fishing is still edible dominant but the catch reports are starting to see a lot of inedible fish landed.
North – The north coast has seen the bulk of the inedible catches. The usual spots like Tugela and Mtunzini have been the places to go if you are looking for something to test your drag. Remember that these spots should be fished in a group as there have been incidents in the past. Bloody baits like mackerel and bonito have been the most successful.
There have been some good edibles around most of the north coast. Look for some protected bays and gullies for the best results.
Central – The central coast has seen a bit of edible action. There have been a few garrick taken at Blue Lagoon on live bait. These are highly pressured fish so please consider releasing your catch. The beaches along the central coast have also seen some good stumpies and kob being caught. Chokka, prawn and sardines have been the best choices. The shad have been around in the early mornings.
South – The south coast has been a bream fishing hotspot for the last few weeks. These fish move a lot so put the time in and walk along the desired area and look for signs of these fish. Pink prawn has been the most successful bait for these fish. If you haven’t tried it yet, give circle hooks a go for the bream. They do not come out once hooked and you will not get stuck as much as you do with J-hooks.
Freshwater:
The bass have stolen the show in the freshwater world. The carp and trout fishing is still ticking along and the scalies are starting to gain more attention.
Bass – The bass season has started to pick up. The spawn is almost upon us so get ready to catch some proper fish. Keep an eye on the shallow bays as the bass will look to nest in these areas in the next couple of weeks.
Chatterbaits/bladed jigs have been doing very well with the aggressive fish. These lures create a lot of noise and vibration that gets the bass in to attack mode. White/chartreuse has been the most popular colour in these.
Hazlemere and Albert Falls have been the two best dams in terms of the reports. Either very active fishing or finesse techniques have been the way to go. So, choose your preferred method and go out to the dam and catch some bass.
Carp – The carp fishing has started to pick up in the last week. The colder weather will slow them down a bit so do not expect fireworks during the cold fronts. Perseverance is the key during the slower fishing times as the fish will still feed, you just need to convince them to eat.
Fruity and sweet flavours have started out-performing all the stronger scents. Look at the caramel and banana scents in your baits of choice. Also make sure to pack enough warm clothes to keep yourself comfortable in the colder nights.
Trout – The trout have given way as the key flyrod targets with the rise of the scalies. This being said, the stillwaters in the higher altitudes are still fishing well with good fish being caught in most of the bigger dams. Streamers, leeches and minnow patterns are the usual way to go but be prepared to scale right down if the fishing gets tough.
The scalies have been in the limelight for the past week with a lot of anglers making the drive to remote areas along our rivers to catch these hard-fighting endemics. Black nymphs and hotspot ptn jigs have been the most successful.
News from our Jan, The Kingfisher in PMB – “So after a couple of “false forecasts”, we finally had some weather pulling in this week … but from the early disruptive warnings and forecasts, it stepped off the pedal, and the weather cleared quicker than what was initially forecast. While there has been some half-decent rain in The Midlands (around 20-25mm on average) and some light snow on the nearby ‘Berg, the rivers are in need of some more to get a proper flow going and get the fish moving about.
After the initial rush to the rivers for the opening of the river trout season, it seems that anglers have taken a step back and the wait is on for rain. The upper reaches are reportedly still low and thin in places and hopping between the deeper sections is required to find fish. The lower beats generally hold more water, and there have been some good fish reported on the Natal Fly Fishers Club beats on both the Bushman’s River and Umgeni River in The Dargle. The Bushman’s is running crystal clear at present, and which may result in spooking fish, so a stealthy approach is required especially for the open pools … while fish in the riffles and runs are less spooky. Dry and dropper is again proving to be the method of choice, the fish being able to choose their morsel from the surface or in the current. Reports note fish of up to 15 inches, or just shy of 40cm being brought to hand.
Again, anglers are getting stuck into the rivers, with only a few reports coming from the stillwaters. Largest fish reported from an NFFC stillwater for the last week has been around the 16 inch / 40cm mark.
On the bass front, word from the water is that both Albert Falls and Midmar Dams are on fire. Fish are in full spawn and feeding up a storm, literally taking anything put in front of them, both hard and soft baits. Now isn’t that the kind of news any angler wants hear!?! Local angler Arshud Maiter managed to find himself a bucketmouth while fishing a 5 inch Senko wacky rig in Alberts Falls Dam that pulled the scale to 5.6kg – a proper dinosaur that … Congrats that man! This fish puts him currently at the top of the Keepnet Classics table, with the next fish sitting at 4.52kg. The bank anglers are also doing well at Alberts with some fine fish coming to hand. Midmar is also producing some solid fish, one tipping the scales at 4.41kg in the last week. We don’t hear much from Mearns Dam, but a report this last week noted some excellent fish from this piece of water. Great to see so many good fish coming to hand … dare I say that it looks like there is a solid season ahead.
If it’s bass info you are after, stop by the shop and come and chat to Michael – our resident “Bass Brother”. He has been spending almost every minute out of the shop on the water, and has been clocking up the catches at a rate of knots, and will be sure to give you up-to-the-minute advice. Give him a shout on Insta by following “thebassbrother”.
Back to the rivers and the scaly (Natal Yellowfish) are still providing some bent rods. The colder weather from early this week will have put them down for a wee bit, but as soon as the suns back, they will be out and about. Most popular technique in use at present is Euro Nymphing – being bottom feeders, one usually needs to get the fly / lure down to them, but surface action on a dry fly is not unheard of … something which I still need to add to my catch log”. Thanks so much JAN.
Tight lines and screaming reels.
Series 21 (can you believe it; this is Petri’s 21 series) of Hier Gaan Ons Alweer on kykNET with Petri de Wet kicks off on the 1st October 2022. The premieres are on Saturday evenings at 18:30 on kykNet, channel 144 and there are a number of repeats during the week. The repeats are on Sundays at 16:30, Mondays at 12:30, Tuesdays at 17:00 and Fridays at 22:00. Series 21 runs for three months, ending on the 24th December 2022.
As most of you know, Petri and his guests cover various angling styles (fresh and salt water) in and around Southern Africa.
Watch out for our very own Gilbert Foxcroft and Adriaan van der Merwe in the specimen sections, they join Petri and land some awesome carp.
The KZN Angler News audio fishing report is South Africa’s first fishing podcast series that focuses on the latest fishing reports of the East Coast, it delivers true and accurate content from the provinces most prominent anglers on a weekly basis on various facets of angling. This report is free and available on all major Podcast platforms including Apple Pods, Google Pods, Spotify and Deezer as well as SA’s most popular Facebook Pages. This report is proudly sponsored by The Kingfisher.
https://ansapodcast.buzzsprout.com
The Kingfisher has opened their new store on the upper north coast. Situated in the Tiffany’s Shopping Center in Salt Rock, this store is ideally positioned for our north coast anglers. For all your angling needs, (freshwater or saltwater) pop in and see them or give them a shout on 032 307 0041.
Go to www.facebook.com/thekingfisherdaiwa and “Like” us on Facebook to catch reviews, videos, fishing reports, great promotions and lots more.
As always, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date with all our new video releases and to brush up on your species knowledge, tactics and tips/tricks.
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheKingfisherFishing
Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za